4. The Pack House

The journey to the pack house was an amalgam of emotions, a confusing mix of relief, fear, and shock. Gideon's towering presence, the Alpha, was a constant reminder of the brutality she had witnessed, of the danger she had narrowly escaped.

Every step seemed to bring a new realization, a fresh understanding of the enormity of what had transpired.

She had left her home, fled from her father's madness, abandoned everything she had ever known.

And she was now with the Alpha. The very thought sent tremors down her spine, a mixture of awe and trepidation. Who was this enigmatic being that had saved her? Why had he intervened? What did he desire from her?

Their path through the forest was punctuated by silence, each lost in thought, processing the raw, primal events that had unfolded. Gideon's face was set in a stern, contemplative expression, his eyes unseeing, lost in some internal battle.

"You're injured," Avla's voice broke through the quiet, her concern plain.

His eyes snapped to her,